Hollis Quote of the Day

"Dad, when Livvie is mean to me, Jesus needs to talk to her."

Two Birthdays

We have two little girls who are a year older now. Olivia turned eight on December first. She is such a bright, helpful girl, and so full of energy. I always tell people that I've talked more in the years since she was born than all the rest of my life put together!
This is her cake: Trogdor, the Cakeinator. Seriously, check out Homestar Runner sometime. It's inane but fun and clean.



I am still grateful to my excellent midwife, Diane Barnes. We had a long, rough labor, but an easy delivery. Everyone was expecting a bigger baby, so when she was a tiny little thing shy of seven pounds, we were all shocked. We have a picture of her lying between her dad's Converse All-Stars, and the shoes look bigger than she does.


This is what she looks like now:


Liv has wanted to eat at Lambert's since her last birthday, but what with ice storms and Ivy's birth, we didn't get around to it. So last night, we all went along with my Mom and Dad and sister Laural. Our waitress Ashley, was super nice and accomodating. She procured a special birthday treat for Livvie, and even exchanged some balloon colors for my uber-picky children.














Ivy turned one year old on December 2. She has a great birth story. We had an ice storm about two days before, such a bad one that Toby was home from work those two days. We did not want to perform a "homestyle induction, " so I slept a lot and he played computer with the kids and kept them out of my hair.

Anyway, it was Livvie's birthday and I think I dragged my large self into the kitchen long enough to bake a cake for her. Then Toby took over to make frosting and sprinkles. I remember singing Happy Birthday from bed and falling back asleep, only to wake up as my water broke. While Toby called family, we realized that Liv was busy with my cell phone, calling the midwife. She had it all under control!

Soo....we all packed into the minivan and joined a caravan of: Vea and Emma, Mom and Dad, Laural and Shannon. Did I mention that Missouri is the worst state in the nation for midwives? It is a felony to practice here unless you're a CNM with very specific guidelines met. It all boils down to being illegal to have a home birth in my state. I have an excellent midwife in Harrison, Candy Clarke, (since Diane retired between Hollis and Margaret). So off to Arkansas for us, a two hour drive on icy roads. In labor. We did have a prayer before leaving, and all made it safely there.

A few hours later, we had little Ivy. Another successful home birth, just not at my home. Her middle name is Mabel, after Toby's Great-Grandma Mabel A. She was a lovely person, and we miss her. Ivy is kind of a joke name, like Roman numeral four is IV, and she's our fourth child. But it's also beautiful and old-fashioned. Ivy is a sweet little girl and if her needs are met, she is so happy and playful. She has gone from this little mite....












...to this petite crawler.




I love my girls, and my boy, and my man...I should remember to be more grateful.